ASSIGNMENT 2 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business

Unit number and title Unit 12: Organizational Behavior

Submission date 5th, May 2022 Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Tran Minh Nhat Student ID GBS200790

Class GBS0908B Assessor name Nguyen Thai Nguyet Thanh

Student declaration

I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I understand that
making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.

Student’s signature

Grading grid

P3 P4 M3 M4 D2

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 ASSIGNMENT BRIEF 2
Qualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business

Unit number Unit 12: Organizational Behavior

Assignment title Team dynamics and Organizational Behaviors

Academic Year 2020 - 2021

Unit Tutor HOANG Thi Lan Anh

Issue date Part 2, Spring 2021 Submission date 29/01/2021

IV name and date Nguyen Minh Hai

Submission Format:

Format: A simulated in-class activity, in groups of 3 – 5 students that demonstrates effective teamwork
and coordination, followed by an individual self-reflection of the various skills and theories
applied. You must use font Calibri size 12, set number of the pages and use multiple line
spacing at 1.3. Margins must be: left: 1.25 cm; right: 1 cm; top: 1 cm and bottom: 1 cm. The
reference follows the Harvard referencing system. The recommended word limit is 2.000-
2.500 words. You will not be penalized for exceeding the total word limit. The cover page of
the report has to be the Assignment front sheet 2.

Submission Students are compulsory to submit the assignment in due date and in a way requested by the
Tutors. The form of submission will be a soft copy posted on http://cms.greenwich.edu.vn/

Note: The Assignment must be your own work, and not copied by or from another student or from

books etc. If you use ideas, quotes or data (such as diagrams) from books, journals or other
sources, you must reference your sources, using the Harvard style. Make sure that you know

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 how to reference properly, and that understand the guidelines on plagiarism. If you do not,
you definitely get fail

Unit Learning Outcomes:

LO3 Demonstrate an understanding of how to cooperate effectively with others

LO4 Apply concepts and philosophies of organizational behavior to a given business situation

Assignment Brief and Guidance:

In the second assignment, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to work with others,
based upon the understanding of group and group dynamics.

In small groups (3 – 5 members per group) you are required to participate in an in-class or out-door activity
to test group and teamwork theories (for example, Belbin, Tuckman and hard or soft skills) and their
effectiveness. The reflective report identifies the challenges and obstacles encountered during the activity,
and it contextualized to a specific work environment. During this process, you also are required to analyze
various factors and skills that assist or hinder effective teamwork. You also have to consider appropriate
philosophy regarding team performances and the impact on behaviors.

After the in-class activity you will individually reflect on the various concepts and theories in a reflective
statement of your team performance, analyzing team dynamics, team members’ roles and behavior as
well as contribution.

The specific activities in the class are upon the decision of lecturers for each class

Structure of the assignment:

(1) An introduction of your team activities

(2) Critically analyze facilitators and obstacles that your group faced during the group work, and how
your team leaders and members managed them. Explain what makes the team effective or
ineffective.
(3) Critically analyze your team experience with theories and concepts of team dynamics and
organizational behaviors

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(4) Widening your knowledge by critically analyzing and evaluating the relevance of team development
theories in context of organizational behavior concepts and philosophies that influence behavior
in the workplace. Accordingly, you are advised to choose a company to discuss the effectiveness of
teamwork and/or the role of the leader on its performance

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 Grading criteria

LO3 Demonstrate an understanding of how to cooperate effectively

with others

P3 Explain what makes an effective M3 Analyze relevant team and

team as opposed to an ineffective group development theories to LO3&LO4
team support the development of D2 Critically analyze and
dynamic cooperation. evaluate the relevance of team
development theories in
LO4 Apply concepts and philosophies of organizational behavior to a context of organizational
given business situation behavior concepts and
philosophies that influence
M4 Explore and evaluate how
P4 Apply concepts and philosophies of behavior in the work place.
concepts and philosophies of
organizational behavior within an
OB inform and influence
organizational context and a given
behavior in both a positive and
business situation.
negative way.

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Contents
I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8
II. Reflective report on team performance ........................................................................... 8
1. Soft skills assist effective teamwork .............................................................................. 8
2. Facilitators and obstacles that our group faced ............................................................ 8
3. Tuckman’s model applied by our team ......................................................................... 9
4. Our team goal setting: applied theory of Edwin Locke & Gary Latham ........................ 9
5. Belbin work division model .......................................................................................... 10
6. Maintaining motivation and cultural ........................................................................... 11
III. The effectiveness of teamwork and/or the role of the leader on its performance .... 11
1. Teamwork practice in PUMA ....................................................................................... 11
2. Tuckman’s model applied by PUMA ............................................................................ 13
3. Goal theory - Edwin Lock & Gary Latham applied by PUMA ....................................... 14
IV. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 15
References .............................................................................................................................. 16

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 I. Introduction
After the process of working on the CEOs talk project, this assignment will show the
teamwork theories, for example, Belbin, Tuckman and hard or soft skills and their
effectiveness. Besides that, these theories are also made clear by applying them to our
teamwork and within the PUMA organization. There will also be a reflection report detailing
the challenges, obstacles encountered and motivation maintain during the team activity.
Thanks to that, the assignment can bring the most practical views of the teamwork process
in our team working, especially in big organization like PUMA SE.

II. Reflective report on team performance

1. Soft skills assist effective teamwork
Definition of soft skills: Soft skills, as the name implies, are not a visible skill like domain
subject content, but they do aid in the improvement of a person's personality. Soft skills are
a broad category of personal and interpersonal abilities. Soft skills, on the other hand, are
difficult to quantify because they are intangible. It consists of: Communication skills,
interpersonal skills, group dynamics, teamwork, body language, etiquettes, selling skills,
presentation skills, confidence building etc. (Sharma & Sharma , 2010)

Soft skills applied to our team working

In our team activities, since this is the first time the members work together, members need
to get to know each other through exchanging and listening to each other's information.
Therefore, communication and interacting skills are the most important. Also, like any team
to work effectively, every member of our team must have our own responsibility to perform
their tasks effectively, so that group activities can be completed well. Besides, some soft skills
that affect positively to our team activities can be mentioned as leadership, problem-solving,
time management, collaboration, etc.

2. Facilitators and obstacles that our group faced

As stated above, this is the first time we have collaborated on a project, so we still get some
problems in the process of working. Therefore, our leader Phuc had a role that is a connector,
so that members can bond and understand each other abilities. Because we just worked
together, we were still not familiar with each other's working styles, so there were some
disagreements during the working process. However, those are just small problems, so we
can completely handle it through frankly comments and together find a suitable solution.

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 3. Tuckman’s model applied by our team
• Forming stage: After assigning task that have to have 5 members, Phuc, Nhi and
Phung has gathered as a team. Then me and Nhut joined in later. After gathering a
sufficient number of members, the team leader explained the common goal of the
team and gave us time to get to know each other and each other's abilities. At the end
of this stage, the members came up with ideas to perform the work, then the captain
divided the tasks in accordance with the ability of each member. And we settled on
the idea is that all members act as CEOs of our chosen companies and discuss our
companies through video call. Each team members task, in specific, are each member
has to film a short video from 3 – 5 minutes to talk and evaluate our assignment. After
that, Nhut would compile all the video tapes, then edited into completely video.
• Storming: Storming is a difficult stage for most teams, and it frequently leads to poor
results. Luckily, we just get some small problems in working style, time management,
so team had quickly resolved so it could not get worse. Through these problems, team
members had started to know each other well.
• Norming stage: When we had understood each other, team members began to focus
on common goals and became more dedicated to their tasks. Members serious took
their responsibilities and adhered common rules to in order to reduce conflicts and
create a conducive environment for all the team.
• Performing stage: This stage was where the workflow was very smooth, because we
did not be bothered by external factors that negatively affect work. The members
enthusiastically support each other and have a strong commitment to the common
goal.
• Adjourning stage: When all members complete the assigned tasks, and the work is
completed. Therefore, our group has temporarily disbanded. The members did not
have any dissatisfaction during the working process. If there is an opportunity, we are
also willing to continue collaborating in other subjects.

4. Our team goal setting: applied theory of Edwin Locke & Gary
Latham
For a project to be on the right track, goal setting is indispensable. Our team too. The
following is our team goal setting process.

• Clarity: Initially, our team set a standard that would pass the assignment. If that’s all,
it was not enough motivation to do the task. We set a clear deadline after discussion

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 to estimate how long it would take for members to complete their tasks. Finally, we
specifically divided the tasks that are suitable for every member.
• Challenge: People are often motivated by challenging goals, but this is a small group
task so it should not be too challenging. Our biggest challenge in this project is how to
record videos fluently and naturally.
• Commitment: We recognize that for a team to be successful, all members must agree
on and grasp the objectives. Therefore, all the team members had participated in the
goal setting process, thanks to that we can clearly understand and accept the common
goal.
• Feedback: During work, members always listen to feedback, so we can evaluate how
our team is progressing. Feedback gives us the opportunity to clarify team’s
expectations and correct the limitations of our goals.
• Task-Complexity: As stated above, this is not a very challenging project, so all tasks
are suitable for the member's ability and not too complicated. As the result, we all did
our duties well.

5. Belbin work division model

According to Meredith Belbin's research (no date), the most successful teams had a diverse
mix of behaviors. To create high-performing teams, each of the nine Belbin Team Role
behaviors must be represented at the appropriate times. Based on this theory, our team has
divided members into team roles:

• Hong Phuc – Plant, Co – Ordinator: As a leader, Phuc is a person who confident,

mature and creative. She always was a person who motivated others, initiated
suggestion first and made final decision-making in our team.
• Yen Nhi – Monitor evaluator: Nhi is a calm person. She also has an intelligent and
objective analytical mind. In the working process, she always offered focused and
strategic approaches with high quality. She also gives unbiased judgment and
considers the team's options in a frank manner.
• Kim Phung - Resource Investigator, Shaper: Phung used their inquisitive nature to
come up with new ideas to share with the team. Our concept that makes a video call
between CEOs was also came from her. She is an extrovert, enthusiastic and always
helps the team to understand and absorb good ideas.
• Minh Nhut – Completer Finisher and specialist: Nhut is a person who polished and
examined the work for flaws, adhering to the strictest quality control guidelines. He
also has the passion in the field of video editing, so video compilation and editing are
his responsibilities in our team.

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 • Minh Nhat – Implementer: I am a person who is able to execute requests and tasks
from other members. I see myself as a person with high self-discipline and a that
people can trust and delegate work. I have always felt my worth in team working and
would not hesitate to accept work that everyone else doesn't want to do.

6. Maintaining motivation and cultural

This is very necessary to our team. A motivated team member will always look for a more
efficient way to complete the task. We are constantly looking for ways to streamline
processes, eliminate waste, automate tasks, and produce a more efficient project. Team
members who are motivated have a positive outlook, are enthusiastic about what they are
doing, and are aware that they are investing their time in something worthwhile. In short,
we are a motivated team who enjoys our work and does a good job. Phuc did her role as a
leader very well. Throughout the working time, she always motivated us a lot.

Our team applied McClelland’s theory of needs. As a human, we all need for achievement
that motivates us to work hard to achieve the goals. Each of us wants to have a good score
to pass the course, that's why this motivation is always maintained by us. Besides that, the
need for affiliation is always exist in everyone of us. Through this teamworking, we want to
have more relationships in our school life. Thanks to that we can support each other as well
as have more good friends in our life. About the need for power, because this is just a small
team activity in school, we have not a desire to control and influence others.

Culture is important for a team too. Our team used Handy’s model for the teamworking
process. We are all role occupants, but the role is us. We are chosen for our ability to
perform roles well. In our group, personal power does not seem to exist. Our team relies on
the group's unifying power to increase efficiency and help individuals identify with the
team's goals. Our focus is on getting the work done and bringing together the necessary
resources and people at the appropriate levels to complete the project.

III. The effectiveness of teamwork and/or the role of the

leader on its performance
1. Teamwork practice in PUMA
For a successful company, it is not only the efforts of an individual but also of an organization
or teams. At PUMA, the spirit of teamwork is highly appreciated. And so, a discussion about
the common traits of highly effective team members has been open. And the following is the
result:

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• The commitment of team members to the team and the brand is the first thing that
the company notices. Team members who work well together are motivated and
dedicated. When everyone on the team is focused on the same goal, the team is much
more likely to succeed (Contador, No date)
• At PUMA, each member of the group must become the real conversationalist.
Effective team members can hold genuine, beneficial discussions. This means they are
good at generating conversation, active listening, and guiding conversations when
necessary. Often, a team must determine its own course and then devise a strategy
to achieve the goal. Meetings at PUMA usually moves much more quickly because
each team member is actively listening and then contributing. Items can be agreed
upon or solved more quickly, giving the team more time to focus on the work at hand
(Contador, No date)
• Next are also the important factors that are focus and agility. It can be difficult to stay
focused on the main goal at times. It is easy for people to become distracted when
there are so many creative ideas. Effective team members can listen to ideas, discuss
their likelihood of success, and then assist in the process of modifying or redirecting
those ideas to better hit the target and align with the brand's identity. Team members
who are skilled at this are highly valued. The team as a whole is usually more
adaptable than an individual, taking into account, brainstorming, and ultimately
reshaping ideas to create something better. This is critical in the company's specific
region because things are constantly changing. Adaptable and agile people are those
who can reshape ideas based on new information. These are some of the most crucial
abilities, particularly at PUMA (Contador, No date)
• Giving and taking feedback without ego are quite important too. Employees at PUMA
must frequently remove themselves from the equation in order to give and receive
feedback effectively. The goal is to use the idea to create the best solution. This means
that everyone on the team must remember that feedback is not the same as criticism.
Their egos can get in the way of their progress as humans. Some individuals
sometimes be upset when listening to suggestions and vice versa, there are also some
people who are afraid to give their solutions and opinions for fear of being judged or
criticized by others. All of this can be attributed to ego. On a team, ego can be the
single most destructive force. Each individual sometimes needs to lower their ego to
listen and sometimes also have to be strong to voice an opinion. Thanks to that, the
whole team can develop and help the organization grow stronger. Therefore, it can
be seen that diverse perspectives and constructive feedback are essential when
working in groups, especially at PUMA (Contador, No date)
• The most important thing PUMA learned from effective team members is that they
maintain a sense of perspective and balance. There is a quote of Jack Ma is: “Never

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 give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be
sunshine”. It is critical to remember that every individual is progressing every day.
They are getting closer to their ultimate goals with every effort they make (Contador,
No date)

2. Tuckman’s model applied by PUMA

Tuckman’s model applied by PUMA in the context of the process of a marketing team
project operating

• Forming stage: In PUMA's unique culture, the company needs both external and
internal talent with innovative ideas and a strong commitment to moving the
company forward. For this reason, Leader of marketing department is constantly
connecting with professionals, and internal talents in order to build for him a strong
team that is ready to take the next step forward. After having assembled the right
team members, the leader will explain the common purpose of the team, and also
give some time for the members to get to know each other. And the last activity of
this stage is dividing tasks in accordance with each member's professional ability
(PUMA, no date) Because the other members have not yet positioned and clearly
defined their roles in the group, the leader must demonstrate his leadership role at
this stage (PUMA, no date)
• Storming stage: For most teams, storming is a very difficult stage and easily leads to
bad results. So does PUMA. Here, there may be conflicts between members due to
different reasons such as: working style, manners, arguing about problems or
solutions, culture, etc. Members can also dissatisfied with each other's work, easy to
make comparisons between themselves and others, etc. It is difficult for the group to
come to decisions based on consensus. Members may also begin to question
established rules, want to modify, experiment, and possibly break those rules. Worse
still, some members may appear uncooperative, uncommitted in their work, and
unsatisfied with the current way of working. The exchange and support in the group
is not really good. During this stage, members are no longer focused enough on work
towards a common goal. Therefore, the role of the leader will be the one who listens
and gives explanations to the members' questions and resolves unnecessary conflicts
in the team. Thanks to that, the members also began to understand each other better
(PUMA, no date)
• Norming stage: This stage comes when people begin to accept each other, accept
differences, try to resolve conflicts, recognize the strengths of other members, and
respect each other. Members began to communicate more smoothly with each other,
consulting with each other and asking for help when needed. Can start to have

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 constructive comments. People begin to look at common goals and have a stronger
commitment to work. There can be new rules formed and followed to reduce
conflicts, creating a favorable space for members to work and collaborate. At this
stage, the leader will have to be the one to keep the situation stable or even better.
At the same time, he also has to motivate the members to work even more so that
they can complete the common work effectively. As a leader means having to aware
of his team member mood and energy. If he does not meet their needs, he has been
unsuccessful. The ability to assess the group is imperative. Additionally, leadership in
this case, means being fully prepared in terms of knowledge and understanding others
(PUMA, no date)
• Performing stage: Thanks to the good leadership of the leader in the previous stages
has brought the whole team to the performing stage. This is the stage when the team
achieves the highest efficiency in work. At this stage, the rules are followed without
any difficulty. The mutual support mechanisms in the group work well. The
enthusiasm and commitment of the members to the common goal is unquestionable.
At this stage, the dominant spirit is one of collaboration.
• Adjourning stage: This can happen in a variety of situations, such as when a project is
completed, when the majority of team members leave to pursue other opportunities,
or when the organization is restructured (PUMA, no date)

3. Goal theory - Edwin Lock & Gary Latham applied by PUMA

According to PUMA (no date), staying on target is one of the prerequisites in every project at
the company. The most important thing is knowing where project started and where it needs
to go.

• Clarity: For the PUMA team's goals to be motivating, they must be clear and concise.
Employees will have a harder time understanding goals if they are ambiguous or
complex. And the goal of the team needs to meet with the goals of the team members,
so that they might be more motivated to do their task. Therefore, all the goals of
company must be specific by leader at the first stage of any project in PUMA.
• Challenge: Individuals must believe that their goals are stretching in order to be
motivated. Members of the team must believe that achieving their objectives will be
a genuine accomplishment. On the other hand, individuals will not be motivated if
their objectives are too difficult. Hence, leader has to set goals that challenging but
not unrealistic.
• Commitment: Company believes that in order for a team to be effective, members
must understand and agree on the goals – team members are more likely to believe
a goal if they involved to set it. This does not imply that the leader must negotiate and

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 secure the approval of his team members for each goal. They are more likely to
commit to it if they believe the goal is attainable, aligned with the company's goals,
and assigned to a trustworthy leader.
• Feedback: In addition to choosing the right goals, the leader also listens to team
members' feedback so that he can assess how well he and his team are progressing
and the team's compatibility. Gathering feedback from team members is critical
because it may indicate that the original goal needs to be tweaked in some way. It's
preferable to find out months later that a goal wasn't as clearly defined as the leader
thought. Two-way feedback acts as a check and balance on the achievement of his
employees' objectives. In PUMA, the feedbacks are usually given in the team meeting
at the weekend or might be in any time throughout the project if important.
• Considering Task Complexity: PUMA's leader Always set goals at the appropriate level
of difficulty. For complex tasks and objectives, he employs multiple goals. When single
goals are set for highly complex tasks, they are rarely successful. Given this, it's critical
to break down objectives into manageable chunks. People who work in difficult and
demanding jobs are prone to overworking themselves if leader does not consider the
task's complexity.

IV. Conclusion
In conclusion, this assignment has covered a wide range of team performance concepts and
theories, including team dynamics, team member roles and behavior, and contribution... It
also gives specific PUMA company examples. This allows for a better understanding of how
companies implement these theories.

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References
Belbin, M., no date. The Nine Belbin Team Roles. [Online]
Available at: https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles
[Accessed 5th May 2022].

Contador, M., No date. HOW TO BE EFFECTIVE AT WORK. [Online]

Available at: https://about.puma.com/en/careers/blog/effective-teammember
[Accessed 30th April 2022].

PUMA, no date. DEVELOPING PUMA PEOPLE & ORGANIZATION. [Online]

Available at: https://about.puma.com/en/careers/teams/people-and-organization
[Accessed 1st May 2022].

PUMA, no date. LEADERSHIP IS ALL AROUND US. [Online]

Available at: https://about.puma.com/en/careers/blog/brianna-burgos-leadership-is-all-
around-
us#:~:text=be%20a%20helper,celebrate%20their%20success%20without%20micromanagin
g.
[Accessed 1st May 2022].

Sharma, G. & Sharma , P., 2010. Importance of Soft skills development in 21st century
Curriculum. International Journal of Education and Allied Sciences, Volume 2, p. 41.

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